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Technical Diver Level 3
Purpose
The Technical Level 3 (Tech 3) course is the culmination of a series of
three courses designed to establish technical diving excellence and
facilitate deep, mixed gas diving. Emphasis is placed on
aggressive diving profiles including advanced decompression theory,
advanced gas mixture/management, control over extreme exposures to
Oxygen and proficiency in the use of a DPV for propulsion at
depth. This course is heavily experience-based and deals mostly
with the practical implications of deep diving; divers are expected to
be capable technical divers.
Prerequisites
1. Must meet GUE General Course Prerequisites :
General Prerequisites for All GUE Courses
The following are prerequisites for all GUE Courses (any additional
and/or course specific course prerequisite, as well as any deviations
from the following, will be listed under the appropriate section of the
specific course):
- Must submit a
completed registration form, medical history, and liability release to
GUE Headquarters.
- Must be physically and mentally fit.
- Must hold DAN Master level insurance or equivalent.
- Must be a nonsmoker.
- Must obtain a physician's
prior written authorization for the use of prescription drugs,
except for birth control, or for a prior medical condition that
may pose a risk while diving. A partial list of such conditions
may be found on GUE's medical history form; if a student answers
in the affirmative to any of these, they must obtain a
physician's approval to dive and disclose this to their GUE
instructor before the onset of training. Physician approval
for a specific condition is valid for one year from the date it
is given assuming there are no further changes to the student's
medical conditions.
- Must be CPR/First Aid trained (except for DIR Fundamentals).
2. Must be a minimum of 21 years of age
3. Must beGUE Tech 2 qualified and GUE Cave Level 1 trained
4. Must have a
minimum of 300 logged dives with at least 200 dives in double
cylinders and at least 50 dives beyond Tech 2 training
5. Must be able
to swim a distance of at least 60 feet/18 meters on a breath hold
6. Must be able to
swim at least 400 yards/365 meters in less than 12 minutes without
stopping. This test should be conducted in a swimsuit and, where
necessary, appropriate thermal protection.
Duration
The GUE Tech 3 class is normally conducted over a 7-day period and
involves a minimum of forty (40) hours of instruction. Training
consists of at least ten (10) dives of which six (6) are critical
skills/drills and four (4) are experience dives as defined by GUE
standards.
Course Limits
1. General Training Limits as outlined in Section 1.4
2. Student to instructor
ratio is not to exceed 3:1 during in-water training or land drills
Course Content
The GUE Tech 3 course is normally conducted over a 7-day period, and
cumulatively involves a minimum of forty (40) hours of class-oriented
instruction (lecture and in-water) designed to instill divers with an
advanced understanding of mixed gas diving. Special emphasis here
will be placed on extended exposures and their associated
considerations (dive planning, gas management, DCS, Oxygen toxicity,
DPV propulsion, and thermal concerns).
Course requirements include a minimum of six (6) critical skill dives
(3 days) with training in scooter diving, multiple stage/deco bottles,
navigation, advanced gas management and advanced decompression
strategy, and four (4) Trimix experience dives (4 days) with practical
implementation of critical skills during deeper/longer diving.
Required Training Materials
1. Doing it Right: The
Fundamentals of Better Diving. Jarrod Jablonski, GUE, 2001, High
Springs, Florida.
2. Getting Clear on the
Basics: The Fundamentals of Technical Diving. Jarrod Jablonski,
GUE, 2001, High Springs, Florida.
3. Beyond the
Daylight Zone: The Fundamentals of Cave Diving. Jarrod Jablonski,
Panos Alexakos and Todd Kincaid, GUE, 2001, High Springs, Florida.
4. The Physiology and
Medicine of Diving. Peter Bennett and David Elliott, W. B. Saunders
Company Ltd, London.
Academic Topics
1. GUE organization
2. Limits of training and course completion requirements
3. Conservation
4. Logistical planning, project support, and operational planning
5. Advanced diving
techniques including scooter diving, use of multiple stage/deco
bottles, navigation, advanced gas management, and advanced
decompression strategy
Land Drills & Topics
1. Spool, reel, and guideline use
2. Dive team order and protocols
3. Scootering protocols
4. Touch contact
5. Advanced navigation skills
Required Dive Skills & Drills
1. All skills and drills as outlined in General Diving Skills:
General Diving Skills
With the exception of DIR Fundamentals, GUE courses must all ensure
proficiency in the following diving skills; a final grade of three (3)
(satisfactory) or better is required to demonstrate the requisite skill
in each. Any other and/or course specific skills, as well as any
deviation from a particular diving skill, will be listed under the
appropriate section for the specific course. DIR Fundamentals has
a more restricted skill set, one outlined in section 2.1.2.9.
- Demonstrate
proficiency in safe diving practices; this would include pre-dive
preparation, in-water activity, and post-dive assessment.
- Demonstrate
awareness of team member location and a concern for safety,
responding quickly to visual cues and dive partner requirements.
- Efficiently and
comfortably demonstrate how to donate gas to an out-of-gas diver
in multiple gas-sharing episodes, with one or more of these to
include a distance of at least 30 feet/9 meters.
- Demonstrate a
comfortable demeanor while swimming for at least 100 feet/30
meters, without a mask, while gas-sharing.
- Be able to
comfortably demonstrate at least two propulsion techniques that would
be appropriate in delicate and/or silty environments.
- Demonstrate
knowledge of dive rescue techniques, including effective management of
the following situations: assisting a convulsing diver and an
unconscious diver.
- Demonstrate a safe and responsible demeanor throughout all training.
All GUE instructors are encouraged to exceed minimum training standards
when by doing so they are promoting the best interests of the student.
Instructors are actively encouraged to deny qualification to students
when students have not met the standards of the certification level
they are pursuing to the satisfaction of the instructor.
2. Assess and review diving limitations.
3. Skillfully demonstrate
gas failure procedures; including valve manipulation, gas-sharing, and
regulator switching (as appropriate).
4. Demonstrate the ability
to deploy a lift bag/surface marker buoy in less than two minutes while
hovering stationary. Participants should not vary in depth more
than 5 feet/1.5 meters.
5. Be able to skillfully
demonstrate at least two propulsion techniques that would be
appropriate in delicate and/or silty environments.
6. Demonstrate good touch
contact skills for limited and simulated zero visibility situations.
7. Demonstrate excellent reel and guideline use.
8. Demonstrate proficiency in gas-sharing while managing multiple stages.
9. Demonstrate safe and efficient operation of a DPV.
10. Demonstrate proficiency in gas-sharing while piloting a DPV.
11. Demonstrate the ability to run/retrieve a guideline while scootering.
12. Demonstrate the
ability to tow a diver whose diver propulsion vehicle has failed.
13. Demonstrate
proficiency in managing scooter times (power management protocols).
14. Demonstrate the
effective deployment of a reserve light in less than 30 seconds.
15. Demonstrate excellent buoyancy control skills.
16. Demonstrate a clean and
efficient removal of multiple stage and/or decompression bottles
while hovering horizontal.
17. Demonstrate
facility with advanced decompression procedures by: 1) demonstrating
the ability to explain trends in decompression tables, and 2) by
explaining a strategy for managing decompression in the event of
a lost decompression gas.
18. Demonstrate the
knowledge to safely carry out all decompression obligations
assuming the loss of all back gas.
19. Demonstrate
capacity with navigation, including compass operation and natural
navigation techniques.
Equipment Requirements
Each student should have, and be familiar with, all of the following required equipment.
1. Tanks/Cylinders:
Students are required to use dual tanks/cylinders connected with a dual
outlet isolator manifold, which allows for the use of two first-stages.
All dives must start with a minimum of 80 cubic feet/2250 liters of
gas. Divers must also maintain the use of at least four
appropriately marked stage bottles. Stage bottles should include:
one Oxygen cylinder, one cylinder for use at 70 feet/21 meters, one
cylinder for use at 120 feet/36 meters, and one cylinder for use at 190
feet/57 meters.
2. Regulators: Two
first-stages, each supplying a single second-stage. One of the
second-stages must be on a 7-foot/2-meter hose. One of the first-stages
must supply a pressure gauge and provide inflation for a dry suit where
applicable. Four first-stage regulators, one for each
stage/decompression cylinder; each one is to supply a single
second-stage and a single pressure gauge.
3. Backplate
System: A rigid and flat platform, of metal construction
with minimal padding, held to a diver by one continuous piece of
nylon webbing. This webbing should be adjustable through the
plate and should use a buckle to secure the system at the waist.
A crotch strap attached to the lower end of this platform and
looped through the waistband would prevent the system from riding up
a diver's back. A knife should be secured to the waist on the
left webbing tab. This webbing should support five D-rings; the
first should be placed at the left hip, the second should be
placed in line with a diver's right collarbone, the third should
be placed in line with the diver's left collarbone, the fourth and
fifth should be affixed to the crotch strap to use while
scootering or towing/stowing gear. The harness below the diver's
arms should have small restrictive bands to allow for the
placement of reserve light powered by three in-line c-cell
batteries (where necessary). The system should retain a
minimalist approach with no unnecessary components.
4. Buoyancy Compensation
Device: A diver's buoyancy compensation device should be
back-mounted and minimalist in nature. It should come free of
extraneous strings, tabs, or other material. There should be no
restrictive bands or "bungee" of any sort affixed to the buoyancy
cell. In addition, diver lift should not exceed
80lbs. Wing size and shape should be appropriate to the cylinder
size(s) employed for training.
5. Approved DPV
6. At least one depth-measuring device
7. One timekeeping device
8. Survey compass and slate
9. Decompression tables
10. Mask and fins: Mask should be low volume; fins should be rigid, non-split
11. At least one cutting device
12. Wet Notes
13. One reel/spool with 100 feet/30 meters of line per diver
14. One primary reel per team, with a minimum of 300 feet/90 meters of line
15. One primary
light: A primary light should be minimalist in design; its
power source should consist of a rechargeable battery pack residing in
a canister powering an external light head via a light
cord. Primary lights should produce the equivalent output
of 50 watt halogen/10 watt HID lighting or greater.
16. Two reserve lights:
Reserve lights should be non-rechargeable in-line three c-cell
battery lights with a minimum of protrusions and a single
attachment at its rear. The light should be activated by twisting
the front bezel towards the body, deactivated by turning it away
from the body.
17. Exposure suit appropriate for the duration of exposure
18. At least one surface marker buoy per diver
Note: Prior to the commencement of class, students should consult with
a GUE representative to verify equipment requirements. Whether or not a
piece of equipment fulfills GUE's equipment requirement remains at the
discretion of GUE and its instructor representatives.
Participants are responsible for providing all equipment or for making
provisions to secure all necessary equipment before the start of the
course. In general, it is better for the student to learn while using
his or her own equipment. However, students should exercise
caution before purchasing new equipment to avoid acquiring substandard
equipment. Please contact a GUE representative prior to making any
purchases. Information about recommended equipment can be obtained from
the equipment considerations section of GUE's web site.
info@portofinodivers.com
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